Creepy, Crawly

Well, definitely creepy.

(hat tip, Raw Story)

U.S. Military Plans to Make Insect Cyborgs

In an announcement posted on government Web sites last week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, says it is seeking "innovative proposals to develop technology to create insect cyborgs," by implanting tiny devices into insect bodies while the animals are in their pupal stage.

OK, I'm creeped out now. Still, the project has its limitations:

Several years ago, DARPA launched a $3 million project to train honeybees to find landmines. According to a report by the American Forces Press Service, scientists used sugar-soaked sponges treated with explosives to get the bees to identify the smell as a possible food source.

But last week's solicitation says the project didn't work out.

Possibly because a honeybee's brain is smaller than a honeybee. Just a guess.

Seriously, I'm creeped out by the idea of controlling living creatures as if they were robots, no matter how small their brains. It seems so unlikely in my brain that I keep thinking we're talking about a movie. Gives me the shivers, it does.